Securing luggage while traveling on trains

Becky. It goes over your head in the rack, under your seat, or in your lap - one of the reasons traveling light is recommended. Yes some cars have luggage racks by the door for larger items, but you may not be sitting close to them if that is your concern.

We've always placed our luggage in the racks at the end of the cars, just as the rest of the travelers do, and never had any problem.

I just carry a backpack and on most trains I have had it on the rack above my seat. Occasionally, especially when I carried a bigger suitcase, I put it in the racks at the end of the car. I never had a problem when I did that, though it made me nervous!

You hit it. Either overhead or the end of the car. It is not a big deal ! Sometimes you may find seats that are Back to Back like an A. The little gap between the seats will take a small bag. If you are concerned about security in the bins at the end of the car, get a cable lock and lock your bags together or to something solid. But if you notice, most of the locals throw their bags in bins and it is only the tourist sitting with their bags like someone is going to steal them. However, I do exercise more caution when on Regionale trains because they make many more stops and lots of people are always getting on and off. But for the most part, bag theft is pretty low.

And PLEASE do not put your bags on the seat across from you. We were on a Regionale train last May in a very crowd car with standing room only and two large American tourist had piled all of their luggage on the seat in front of them. They ignored all the comments. Someone asked them to move the luggage and their abrupt response was, "Where else do you want me to put?" and then looked out the window.

In general, you should keep your luggage locked with a travel lock (including in your hotel while you're out, during transit and while on a train). That keeps someone from easily rifling through it. High speed trains require a ticket to board and have few stops. If you are on one of those and have your bags in the luggage bin, just give it a peek while at a station stop. Some people use cable locks but it really isn't necessary. And always keep any valuables in a bag with you (including if you leave your seat).

Some trains have storage racks mid-car, some at the ends, and the a-frame shape between back-to-back seats will hold two larger than carryon suitcases. That's in addition to overhead racks.

There's usually plenty of room on the overhead rack near your seat, so that's my first choice for placing a carry-on sized bag. If I can't lift that size of bag over my head, someone has always been willing to help. Racks at the ends of the cars are convenient for people traveling heavier, but try to avoid packing heavy.

I travel reserved First Class so I can keep my luggage on the floor in cubby-holes and niches near my seat. If seats are empty in my suite, i put my bag on the floor inside my suite.

You can take plastic cable ties along with you, and a fingernail clipper to cut them off. (Unlike scissors, you can take fingernail clippers in carry-on bags on all airlines.)

Use the ties if you have to leave bags in the luggage section near the doors. You can tie the bags to an upright post, or to each other in a way that makes it very difficult to move them. If you do this, be sure to give yourself enough time before your arrival to get the bags ready to hop off. At popular stops, the area around the doors will start to fill up in advance.

They also make smaller cable ties that you can use with many bags to lock the zippers shut. We always do this if we're leaving a bag at a Left Luggage counter. Most travel stores have them as does AAA.